Win-Loss 0-0 Role Baseball player Name Lee Gronkiewicz | Strikeouts 2 Earned run average 2.25 | |
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Education University of South Carolina | ||
Lee Matthew Gronkiewicz (born August 21, 1978 in Los Angeles) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Lee played for 8 seasons in the minor leagues. He played in the MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays. He is the current head coach of the Columbia Blowfish and the pitching coach for University of South Carolina Lancaster. Lee is also involved with USA baseball. He is currently in the college national team selection committee. He is 5'10 in height and weighs 200 pounds.
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College career
Gronkiewicz attended college first at Spartanburg Methodist College, and then transferred to the University of South Carolina. In 2001, he was selected to the All-SEC team and was a First-team All-American. He led the country in saves that year with 16, and had a 1.42 ERA.
Minor league career
Gronkiewicz signed with the Cleveland Indians in 2001 as an amateur free agent. He spent four years in Cleveland's minor league system before he was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. In seven minor-league seasons, Gronkiewicz has a career 18-16 record, pitching almost entirely in relief with just one start for the 2007 Syracuse Sky Chiefs, putting up a 2.48 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP along the way. He struck out nearly four times as many batters as he walked (421 strikeouts and 111 walks through 2007).
Major league career
Gronkiewicz' major league debut (and only major league appearance to date) was on June 19, 2007, when the Blue Jays hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed one run—a home run to Dodgers catcher Russell Martin—on two hits, walking two and striking out two, over four innings of work.
In November 2007, he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
In April 2008, after a stellar month in Triple-A where he allowed 1 run in 11 innings, he was placed on the DL with elbow soreness. It was later determined to be damage to his UCL and he underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his season. He became a free agent at the end of the season.